1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for covering food items while cooking, specifically, a splatter guard for covering food in an oven or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, it has been known to use devices to shield food while cooking the food in a certain types of ovens. Food of various types is often cooked in microwave ovens. When such food is not completely enclosed by a container there is a great chance that spilling, splattering and splashing of food particles will occur. When such disturbances of the food due to the heating process occurs the interior of the microwave oven will need to be cleaned. Effort and time must necessarily be expended every time the microwave is cleaned. The greater the frequency of spills the greater the need to clean the microwave oven. Therefore there is need for a device which helps prevent spilling, splattering, and splashing of food from contaminating the interior of a microwave oven. A device which is convenient, easy to use, and effectively keeps the microwave clean. Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples include but are not limited to the references described below, which references are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,363, issued to Michaluk, discloses a microwave oven with built-in food covering mechanism, the microwave having a body defined by a top, bottom, sides and rear. A door is hingedly connected to the body and is opened to reveal an open interior of the body. A covering member is suspended within the oven interior and is operably connected to an electric motor built into the microwave body. The motor includes a rotating gear head which rotates in one of two directions to either wind or unwind the cord to either elevate or lower the covering member within the interior. A microprocessor energizes and deenergizes the motor and is operated by any of a selection of spring loaded, pressure actuated or sensing switch assemblies within the microwave interior.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,687,026, issued to Gleason, discloses a dish cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,356, issued to Tripp et al., discloses a food covering device for use with a microwave oven. The microwave oven has a door hingedly attached thereto and an interior which is defined by a top, sides and a bottom. The device includes a cover having a top and side wall which defines an open interior. The cover is suspended within the oven enclosure by a cord which attaches to the cover at one end and to the door of the oven at the other end. The cover is actuated from a first suspended position within the oven enclosure to a second position overlaying the bottom of the oven enclosure when the door is closed. A height adjuster is provided for adjusting the extent which the cover is actuated from the first to the second position. The cover overlays an item of food placed upon the bottom of the microwave interior when it is desirable to heat the item. The cover may also be adjusted solely at the height adjuster without the opening and closing motion of the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,754, issued to Chiba, discloses a cooking hood used in making a cake in a microwave oven has a peripheral wall and a top wall formed with a center hole similar in shape to the top wall itself and is adapted to be put over a cake mold containing dough for a cake. The cake mold containing the dough and covered with the hood is put in a microwave oven to heat the dough to form a cake. The center hole is of such a size that the steam rising from the dough being heated will be released gradually through the hole so that the cake will be baked uniformly from the inside to the outside. The dough is made by kneading whipped egg, sugar, sifted flour, a fat such as margarine and water or milk with a whipper. The content of the water or milk should be larger by about 20 percent than when baking a cake of the same size in a gas or electric oven. The weight ratio of the water or milk to the flour should be about 55 percent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,773, issued to Hanlon, discloses a protective cover for a dish being heated in a microwave oven is formed of moisture-absorbent, microwave transparent material forming a top member and an encircling wall member depending downwardly from the periphery of the top member to completely cover the dish to protect the interior of the oven from any possible spattering of food particles during the heating. The cover is formed of absorbent material so that any escaping fluids and food particles may be captured or absorbed by the cover. The wall member is fluted to give the cover self-supporting rigidity, and an upper edge of each fluted portion coincides with a scalloped portion of the top member. The cover may be treated with a microwave safe resin to increase the rigidity of the cover.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 416,436, issued to, discloses the ornamental design for a microwave plate cover.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include, complex, limited in use, limited adaptability, expensive, non-durable and/or fails to conveniently, effectively, and/or safely prevent contamination of the interior of microwave ovens.
What is needed is a splatter guard that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.